Salvation is Nigh

The morning after the Omaha Storm Chasers fell to Reno in defense of their PCL title, the Royals promoted a handful a players from the Triple-A club.

Among them was a name Royals fans have been clamoring for: Jake Odorizzi.

Between Double-A and Triple-A this season, the righthander was solid: 15-5, 3.03 ERA, a 135/50 K/BB ratio, and a WHIP of 1.25 in 145.3 innings pitched (26 games, 25 starts). While Odorizzi was definitely deserving of a big league promotion, the move also comes with being added to the 40-man roster – meaning Jake will not be available to other ball clubs in the upcoming Rule 5 draft this winter.

Fans in Kansas City have been calling Odorizzi’s name for most of the season, given the inconcistent performances of starting pitchers Luke Hochevar, Jonathan Sanchez, Bruce Chen, and the season-ending injuries suffered by Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino. But Dayton Moore opted to keep Izzy in Triple-A through the remainder of their season to work on lowering his pitch count by using his pitches more effectively (he averaged only 5-6 innings per start this season) and compete for the PCL title.

Given the heavy workload he’s already had this season, Odorizzi figures to just get a taste of big league action this season. Ned Yost has said that he’ll be in the bullpen for the time being, but is slated to start Sunday’s home game against Cleveland if he isn’t needed before then. He’s been given number 49.

The others promoted to Kansas City are catcher Adam Moore, IF/U Irving Falu, LHP Tommy Hottovy, and RHP Nate Adcock. Noth Hottovy and Adcock figure to serve as extra bullpen depth, while Falu could see some playing time all over the field.

Adam Moore was claimed off of waivers this July after the Mariners DFA’d him. The 28 year old hasn’t wowed anyone during his time in the majors (68 games, .197/.231/.295, 13 XBH (5 HR), 17 RBI, 72 K, 8 BB), but his line of .296/.381/.443 and 11 XBH (3 HR) in 35 games with Omaha this season has earned Moore a look. The Royals now have four active catchers: Sal Perez, Brayan Pena, Manny Pina, and Moore.